Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: You Have to Pay the Price
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“You're the leader, I take it.”
I used the Throat Slash skill to slip behind the guy who looked like the head of the guards, pressing my blade against his throat.
One good thrust right now, and it would register as a critical hit—instant death.
He trembled in terror of death, and that shaking transmitted right to me.
“Why... why are you doing this? This is just a biotech research lab. There are no villains here.”
The guard's voice quivered with fear.
I started to say that wasn't true but stopped myself.
They were just private security contractors getting paid to stand watch, so it made sense they wouldn't know.
Besides, no one would believe a criminal like me anyway, and in this situation, debating it was pointless.
“Guhk.”
I struck the back of his neck with the hilt of my sword, knocking him out.
『Critical Hit』
‘The researchers might not know, but the K Shield guards aren't directly involved.’
I took down all the guards that way.
They felt like C-rank to B-rank Awakeners.
It was a bit tricky hitting them without killing them.
That was because attacks after Throat Slash counted as critical hits.
There were no signs of Awakeners nearby anymore.
“All clear.”
I spoke toward the elevator.
The doors opened.
Laura. Alpha. Omega.
They started emerging one by one.
I retraced the path we'd taken into the research institute and headed outside.
It was late at night, giving the place an eerie vibe.
As we reached the entrance gate, one guard stepped out of the guard post and drew his sword.
“Dark Knight! What did you do to my company's men?! You didn't... kill them, did you?”
He spotted me and exclaimed in shock.
No time for talk.
I used Throat Slash to get behind him and knocked him out.
『Critical Hit』
Beyond the translucent system window in front of me, I spotted a man in casual clothes.
He had an access card hanging from his chest.
Director Nam Ki-won.
My eyebrows narrowed.
“Well now—this is getting interesting.”
I smirked as I spoke.
Alpha and Omega, who had caught up late, recognized Director Nam Ki-won and glared at him fiercely.
“H-Hiiik! You don't mean you saw everything... underground....”
“Doesn't seeing Alpha and Omega here tell you enough?”
Director Nam Ki-won's eyes twitched.
He seemed desperate to deny the reality in front of him.
I handed my sword to Omega.
“Alpha. Omega. You two finish him.”
She took the sword with trembling hands.
They didn't charge straight at the director but hesitated, circling around him.
It suddenly hit me—later in the story, Chinese ability users couldn't defy their commander because of some kind of setup.
‘Something like a dog tag, right?’
I slipped behind the director, grabbed his shirt, and tore it to shreds.
This revealed a necklace.
Not exactly a dog tag, but it gave off a faint mana signature—clearly an item with the same effect.
I yanked the necklace off.
I flung it to the ground and stomped on it with all my strength.
Boom.
A massive thud, and the asphalt cracked.
The necklace shattered into pieces, as expected.
“That should do it.”
“H-How did you know about that?! Dark Knight, what the hell are you...?”
“Beats me.”
The “me” from before I came to this world.
The “me” whose hands were stained with countless lives.
Could those two really be the same person?
Maybe the real “me” was already dead.
Even if I could go back, would it mean anything? The doubt flickered through my mind for a moment.
“Ughhh.”
“Huff. Huff.”
Crunch.
Alpha and Omega ground their teeth harshly, their breaths coming in ragged gasps.
Their pale faces flushed red with rage.
With the inhibitor broken, the aggression embedded in their genes had awakened.
“You crazy bastard! Spare me! Dark Knight, please. Those psycho Awakener kids are gonna kill a normal guy like me! Doesn't that make them villains?!”
“......”
I turned my back on the director.
He was just reaping what he sowed.
“Damn it! I should've bought that intel from the broker! At least then I wouldn't have—Guhk. Kraaak.”
‘Intel...?’
The familiar-sounding story made me turn back around.
The director's state was gruesome.
Hair torn out in clumps.
Nose shattered and collapsed.
Mouth empty except for a few molars.
He'd gone from man to half-corpse in seconds.
The kids were still pouring violence onto Director Nam Ki-won even now.
Pummeling with fists, stomping with feet, stabbing with the knife.
Even I had to look away—it was a bit much.
“Hold up.”
I stopped Alpha and Omega.
They obeyed me promptly.
At least they hadn't forgotten the favor.
“What's this about a broker?”
“Kkhuhk. Kkuuhk. Sp-Spare me. Pleash. I di-din't do nuffin bad. I'm a kid lover. Omega'sh mom shaid she'sh weak!”
His slurred speech, missing most of his teeth.
But I could make out the gist.
“Answer my questions. Cooperate, and I might let you live.”
Alpha and Omega looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Th-The broker came. Shaid there wash danger here, shome shady merchant at the auction party.”
From the context, it sounded like the same broker who'd sold me info.
No one else could've known I'd raid this place.
I'd have to verify if it was true, but I wasn't the type to just take it lying down.
“I see. Have your fun with him then.”
“You shaid you'd shpare me! You lied!”
Alpha and Omega gleefully resumed their assault on the director.
Pure destructive instincts driving savage attacks.
I looked away, lit a cigarette, and waited for the revenge to end.
Soon, the director's screams faded.
“You kill him?”
Alpha and Omega scampered over to me, beaming and nodding happily.
Blood splattered across their bodies—they looked paradoxical but strangely innocent.
We headed back to our hideout.
***
A few days before Shin Noda raided the research institute.
Most people had come to accept the “Dark Knight's” retirement as fact.
Ability crime rates were rising, and heroes' workloads were getting heavier.
Citizens started missing the “Dark Knight” one by one.
“If only Darkness Jumper hadn't impersonated him, things wouldn't have turned out like this.”
Some said as much.
A few nodded, others shook their heads.
A rapper famous for his bold style released a track called [Dear. Dark Knight].
He belted it out at his first comeback concert.
♪♬
The rapper shook his body to the intense beat.
“One day, he appeared. Dark Knight. My house—burned to ash! Uh, Fire Man!
Heroes and cops? Told me—can't find him, can't catch him. Uh, fuck off, you hypocrite bastards.
24. 407. 24 hours. 407 days. That's how long—I prayed. Yo. Yeah.
One day, he appeared. Dark Knight. Uh, Fire Man? I saw it. Your face—blue with fear. You broke like—a toy from my childhood.”
Fire Man had committed serial arsons, destroying countless families—and this rapper was one of his victims.
After the show, in an interview, the rapper went off about the “Dark Knight.”
“Those loser-ass, inferiority-complex keyboard warriors disappointing you with their shit-talk, right? I'd wanna quit too if I busted my ass that hard just to get dogpiled.”
His answer to a question about what he thought of the “Dark Knight's” retirement.
He was already known for his raw, no-filter persona, with 2.5 million SNS followers.
“Uh, haha. So, is the new song's theme definitely the Dark Knight?”
The reporter who'd requested the interview stammered, caught off guard by the unfiltered response.
“I just want the Dark Knight back. I wanna see villain scum getting served justice. Fuck those villains.”
The rapper suddenly flipped off the camera and stripped off his shirt.
His chiseled, muscular torso was covered in tattoos.
The “Dark Knight” motif blanketed his upper body.
“Ah, uh.”
The reporter, pale as a ghost, thanked him for the interview and fled.
Online, posts poured in from people who used to trash the “Dark Knight,” now full of regret and lament.
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[Super regretful about trashing Dark Knight;;]
On my way back from my uncle's funeral.
Villain got him... Some special ability, no body left behind.
Mom and grandma were crying so sadly.
Dark Knight disappears and villain crime spikes—probably not direct, but fuck, feels like guilt;;
Shouldn't have talked shit when he was around.
Recommend- 19471 Disrecommend- 17420
(Comments)-4583
[Argh, trash like you is why he'll never come back lol why would he?]
[Koreans can't ever treat people right while they're here—always "turns out she was a goddess" jerking off after;;;]I'd quit too—volunteering for free and y'all bitching, ffs lol
>Not a kid throwing a tantrum by not working—what is this lolololololol?>
ㄴ[Dark Knight getting paid? Dude's a volunteer, no wonder he'd hate the shit-talk]
ㄴ[Keyboard warrior inferiority complex life]
ㄴ[At this point, better not come back—no need to protect these vermin ㅇㅇ]
[Holding my breath till Dark Knight returns!]
ㄴ[Found holding breath—dead lol]
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News of the “Dark Knight” broke again a few days later.
He'd terrorized a biology research institute in Busan, killing two researchers.
The haters were back at it, calling him a true villain now.
But the situation flipped completely soon after.
On the ultra-anonymous site “Blackside,” documents were uploaded.
Details of the human experiments at the CK Biochemical Research Institute the “Dark Knight” had hit—and the kids who died from them.
Finally, home addresses and personal info on the researchers involved.
Korea erupted.
Public outrage demanded punishment for the institute staff, and they were sentenced to decades in prison at minimum.